Storey giving up council seat; Butler plans to run

CourtesyDave Butler, immediate past chair of the Rocklin Chamber of Commerce, has launched his campaign for Rocklin City Council.

Jon Brines • Placer HeraldRocklin Mayor Brett Storey announced last Friday that he will not seek a fourth-term on the council.

During last Friday’s State of the City event, Mayor Brett Storey announced he was not seeking a fourth term as a Rocklin City Council member.
“I’m retiring from city council at the end of this year,” Storey said. “I need to concentrate more on my work and my family.”
Storey is a senior management analyst for Placer County’s Planning Natural Resources Department.
Storey was first elected to the council in 2000 and has served as mayor in 2004, 2008 and again this year. Storey said he considered ending his council tenure in 2008, but decided to stay on to help the city weather its economic crisis.
“We’re beginning to turn around,” Storey said. “I feel very comfortable walking away from this.”
Storey and his wife, Corinne, a second grade teacher in Rocklin, and their three children have lived in Rocklin since 1992.
He’s also served on the Rocklin Redevelopment Advisory Commission and the Rocklin Unified School District Board of Trustees.
With three council spots up for election, Storey hopes any new council members will have a business background and will be prepared to do a lot of learning.
“I think the biggest challenge will be shaping the services that we provide with the dollars available to provide them,” Storey said.
Storey, a fiscal conservative Republican, has advocated for an annual balanced budget with a focus on core services.
“We got into some things here in Rocklin that government probably has no business getting into and we’re trying to phase those things out,” Storey said.
As an example, when the council realized the city’s general fund was losing about $100,000 a year by offering swim lessons, the service was cut out of the budget.
Storey indicated the city’s pre-school program may be next on the chopping block.
“We have great preschools in this area,” Storey said. “It’s simply not what I believe to be a government service. Taxpayers should not have that, even though we’ve done some things to make it more break even.”
That may be an uphill battle. As of January, the city took in $64,259 more than it expensed with the preschool program, according to the city.
The three seats currently held by incumbents Peter Hill, Brett Storey and George Magnuson will be up for grabs on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Dave Butler, the immediate past chair of the Rocklin Area Chamber of Commerce, has announced he will run for one of those seats.
“It is important to develop and establish a bridge between the leadership of the past, which has done a great job, and Rocklin’s future,”
Butler is the CEO of the regional non-profit LEED (Linking Education and Economic Development). He hopes his success in leading the chamber over the past five years and his 15 years of business experience will be an advantage.
“I don’t see being pro-business as being a negative,” Butler said. “Rocklin needs to make sure, as a community, that its fees are competitive and that we’re providing superior service — not just to business but to residents as well. That’s the key to our success.”
Butler wants the city to manage its resources responsibly in order to fund the services residents expect, while attracting potential employers to Rocklin.
“I truly believe Rocklin needs a game plan. As a member of the council, I plan to work with the council and residents to develop a shared vision and set of strategic objectives that leverages our strength as a family community, while expanding the city’s economic base and ensuring financial sustainability,” Butler said.
Butler hopes to hear from Rocklin citizens.
“Through the campaign I am really looking forward to hearing more about what the priorities of individual residents are,” Butler said.
Butler’s campaign website is under construction, but he does have a presence on Facebook.